Dustin Poirier told Teddy Atlas he has agreed to fight Nate Diaz on ‘super short-notice’
A bout between Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz was expected to serve as the co-main event at UFC 230. However, that 2018 scrap fell apart after an injury knocked Poirier from the card. To hear Poirier tell it, that matchup could happen in the early days of 2022.
“No contract has been signed yet, but if this does go through I’m going to take it,” Poirier said on “THE FIGHT! With Teddy Atlas” podcast.” “This would be super short-notice. I already looked myself in the mirror. I spoke to my wife and my boxing coach, people I talk to regularly. I talked to my coach Mike Brown as well. They’re behind me if I decide I to take this fight, but I have to look myself in the mirror and ask, ‘Do I want to take this fight.’ I did exactly that. I looked in the mirror and I just felt good. I want to do it.”
Poirier’s body language and facial expression could not hide his excitement about the potential matchup. He eventually named names after some reluctance, and prodding from Atlas’ co-host Ken Rideout.
“I don’t owe these guys nothing. I’m not biting my tongue. It is Nate Diaz,” Poirier continued. “I’m not going to say a card. I’m not going to say what date. But he got on Twitter talking. This guy really fights and I’m a fan of him, but everybody’s a tough guy on the internet. He said something like, ‘Let’s do it.’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure. I’ll really fight you this month.’”
Diaz and Poirier were involved in some social-media sparring in mid-December after Poirier failed to unseat UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira at UFC 269, but that talk died down after Diaz questioned Poirier’s sincerity in taking the matchup.
Ur full of shit
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) December 16, 2021
Diaz has not fought since he dropped a decision to Leon Edwards at UIFC 263 in June.
After Poirier and Diaz had their social media exchange, UFC president Dana White said, after UFC Vegas 45, “If that’s a fight that they want and the fans want to see, we’ll do it.”